The Next Generation
by disneyprincessoflyrian
Summary: Follow Rose Weasley, Albus Potter, and Scorpius Malfoy as they navigate the halls of Hogwarts, get into mischief, fall in love, and learn how to be true to themselves. (My take on the next generation of the Potter-Weasley family. This is some of the first fanfiction I've written, so bear with me. I hope you like it!)
1. Chapter 1

_**September 1, 2017**_

Rose Eleanor Weasley is on the train to Hogwarts.

 _Bloody finally_ , she thinks to herself as she stand by the door, waving to Mum, Dad, Hugo, and the Potter family as they fade away in the crowd of families come to see their children off to school. When they are out of sight, she strides down the train, her curly red hair bouncing, looking for her cousins.

That's when she sees someone slam a door in the boy's face.

He stares down at the floor, white-blond hair covering his eyes but failing to hide the red in his cheeks. She's seen him before a few times, when Mum and Dad dragged her to the school reunion where everyone was supposed to show off their children. And she saw him at the station just a few minutes ago, when Dad told her not to get too friendly with him.

So obviously, she walks right up to him.

"Don't worry about them," she says, despite having no idea who kicked him out. "They're idiots."

He stares at her. He does look a lot like his dad, pale face, long white-blond hair, but he gets his eyes from his mum. They're dark dark blue, like the sky at midnight. Rose has never seen eyes like his.

"Rose Weasley." She sticks out her hand for him to shake, and somehow she knows that this is more than just a girl with wild red hair and her shirt untucked greeting a pale boy with perfect posture and too-formal clothes. It's the end of a feud between rivals.

Sort of.

He shakes her hand and says stiffly, "Scorpius."

Rose laughs a little. "I know who you are. You don't have to pretend you're not a Malfoy."

He blinks those big blue eyes at her.

"Come on, let's go find Albus. You can sit with us."

And she bounces off down the train, a confused Malfoy slowly following.

 _ **September 1, 2017**_

Scorpius had expected the door slamming. He'd expected nasty looks, and name-calling, and getting ignored when people knew who he was.

He definitely hadn't expected to make a friend.

But here he is, following a bushy-haired Weasley girl to sit her with and her friend. A _Weasley_. Merlin, Grandfather will have his head for this. He wonders what Father will think.

He looks down, adjusting the tie that insists on choking him, and almost bumps into Rose. She throw open the door to a compartment and grins and waves at a group of older redheads.

"Anyone seen Al? Scorpius and I want to sit with him."

There's a painful silence as everyone stares at him, registering the face, the name, the emerald green sweater. He stands up tall and tries to ignore it.

"He went that way," a beautiful blonde seventh year with a slight accent says, pointing. "He was looking for you."

"Thanks, Vic." But before they can turn away, a boy with brown skin and curly black hair speaks up.

"Do you want me to come sit with you?" he says softly, glancing at Scorpius.

"We'll be _fine_ , Fred," Rose hisses, and storms off.

Scorpius follows, still very confused.

"Those were your cousins."

"Yes," she snaps, and he falls silent.

She spots a boy and runs to him, dragging Scorpius with her.

"Albus, Albus, this is Scorpius and Dad told me not to be friends with him but I'm going to be anyway and he's going to sit with us on the ride to Hogwarts, is that cool?"

The boy's got black hair and doesn't look as startled by Rose's enthusiasm as Scorpius feels.

"I...I guess?" he stammers, looking Scorpius up and down. He braces himself, waiting for the moment when Albus realizes who he is and changes his mind.

"I swear, Al, if you're going to be a ninny about it like Fred was, I'll hex you."

"You don't know how to hex, idiot."

"Well I will soon and _then_ I'll hex you."

They walk around, looking for an empty compartment to sit in, seemingly perfectly comfortable insulting each other. Rose still has a tight grip on his arm and, with no other choice, he lets her drag him into a sunny compartment that smells like dust and old books. Rose flops into a seat, Albus drops his bag on the floor and sits next to her, and Scorpius carefully sits across from them.

He wishes he could be as sprawled-out and comfortable as the cousins. He wishes he could joke and tease the way they do, but to be friends with someone you have to trust them, and no one trusts a Malfoy.

Scorpius looks down at his hands.

 _ **September 1, 2017**_

Albus watches Scorpius carefully. He looks like the kind of person who's very careful about everything he does and says and is. Albus glances at Rose, hoping she'll start a conversation, but she's got her nose buried in some quidditch book and doesn't look like she'll be talking any time soon. He sighs quietly.

"So, Scorpius, are you excited about going to Hogwarts?"

The boy thinks for a moment before speaking.

"I suppose. I'm ready to learn about magic, but Mother and Father both say that I'll most likely be in Slytherin."

Albus tries not to gape, because _that's exactly how he feels_.

"That's what my brother is saying," he says when he can speak again. "I wouldn't think you'd be bothered by it, though."

Scorpius stiffens, and Albus knows he's said the wrong thing.

"I'd hoped to clear the family name. I'm the only Malfoy going to Hogwarts this generation, and it'll be hard to show everyone that we've changed for the better if I'm exactly like everyone else."

He says this so passionately that even Rose looks up.

"Won't that be even better, if you do get in Slytherin?" she offers. "You can show everyone that Slytherins _and_ Malfoys can be good people."

Scorpius looks like he's considering this. Then he nods and gives Rose a very small smile. "I suppose that does make sense."

Rose grins at him, and Albus finally lets himself relax.

"Do you play quidditch, Scorpius?"

He finds it hard not to grin as Rose puts her book aside. Any mention of the word "quidditch" and she's all ears.

"I do." Scorpius smiles softly.

"What position?" Rose blurts, bouncing in her seat.

"Chaser, mostly. Father says I'm not half bad at Seeker, though."

"I'm a Chaser too!" Rose is grinning so wide Albus thinks her face might split open. "I prefer being a Beater, though; hitting things around is really satisfying."

Scorpius looks more than a little confused and skeptical. "I thought girls couldn't be Beaters."

"Don't get her started," Albus mumbles, knowing full well that it's far too late to stop Rose's lecture.

"Girls _can_ be Beaters, but it takes a lot of strength and most of them aren't willing to put in the effort to get that strong. And there's the social stigma, which you so kindly displayed when you asked that question."

Albus butts in as she pauses for breath, seeing the slightly overwhelmed look on Scorpius's face. "I'm a Seeker. Everyone says I've inherited Dad's knack for it."

"...right. Your father is Harry Potter."

Albus nods slowly, bracing himself for a reaction.

"You must be pretty good then."

"He's great," Rose cries. "I'm going to make him try out for the junior quidditch team. I might make you try out too."

"R-really?" Scorpius stutters.

"Well, only if you're any good. First chance we've got, let's have a game. James can join us; we can play two on two! Or maybe we could get all the cousins in on it for a full team!"

"If you insist," Scorpius says shyly.

Albus can already tell; this is going to be an interesting year.


	2. Chapter 2

_September 1, 2017_

"Albus! Wake up! We're here!"

Rose has her nose to the cold glass, staring at the approaching lights of Hogwarts. They shine off the rippling lake below the castle. It looks warm and full of excitement.

 _It's happening, Rose, it's really happening._

"Blimey," she whispers, grinning. "It's beautiful."

"It is."

Scorpius joins her next at the window, smiling. Albus stands on her other side and the three of them, dressed in their robes, watch the castle as it slides into view.

Rose squeals and starts bouncing as the train slows. "We're at the station we're at the station we're almost there!"

She hears Scorpius mutter something along the lines of "is she always like this" to Albus, but she ignores him. Rose Eleanor Weasley has no time for anyone's negativity. She stuffs the leftovers of the candy that Scorpius insisted on buying for them into her official Chudley Cannon messenger bag, where they'll likely get lost among the clothes and books already inside.

"Rose?" Albus says. "I want to go see the cousins before we get off. Since we won't see them again until we've been Sorted."

He's trying so hard to hide it, but Rose can see the nervousness in his face. But she's kind enough not to point it out and simply grins.

"Of course. Want to officially meet them, Scorp?"

He blinks at the nickname but nods with slight hesitation.

"Oh, don't worry, they don't bite," she says. "Well, Teddy might, since he's part werewolf, but he's already graduated."

"Rose, stop," Albus demands. "You're scaring him."

"Right, sorry."

Once they've gathered all their things, she leads the way through a crowd of chattering students to the compartment where their cousins are still sitting.

"Scorpius?" she crows proudly. "Meet the family."

 _September 1, 2017_

There's a lot of them, that's for sure. Most of them red-headed, all looking at him with varying degrees of suspicion and confusion.

"That's James," Rose says pointing to a wild-haired third year in Gryffindor robes who waves exuberantly. "He's Albus's big brother."

"Nice to meet you, Malfoy. Here to convert Ro and Al to Death Eaters?"

Before Scorpius can say anything, before he can move, before the shocked gasps of the cousins fully circulate the compartment, Rose has her wand out and pointed at James.

"Say that again," she seethes.

The older boy looks a little concerned, despite the confidence in his voice. "I already know all the spells you do."

Rose speaks very fast past gritted teeth. "If spells fail I can still punch you. Don't _ever_ be mean to my friends. _Ever_."

Before James can say anything else, the beautiful seventh year from earlier stands up and walks to Scorpius.

"I am very sorry for what my cousin said," she says. Her voice is soft with a hint of a French accent. She holds out her hand to him, and he shakes it. "He is an idiot and does not think before he speaks. I am Victoire Weasley."

"Scorpius Malfoy."

She smiles at him and sits back down next to another girl wearing Ravenclaw robes.

"That's Fred." Rose gestures to the lanky dark-skinned boy with curly black hair.

"I remember him from before."

"Sorry about that, mate," Fred says. He's got a calm, happy voice that makes you think of lazy days at the beach. "Ro's got a habit of getting into...stupid situations, and I wanted to make sure this wasn't one of those times."

"I understand," he says, ignoring Rose's huff of annoyance.

Whatever she was annoyed at, she gets over quickly and keeps talking at her usual rapid pace. "Fred has a sister, Roxanne, but she's not here. Probably with her quidditch team; she's a Chaser for Gryffindor and she's really good. Molly's with her, I bet. She's on the team too.

"That's Molly's little sister, Lucy." Rose points to a girl with short red hair and glasses, who looks up from her book only long enough to wave shyly. "She's a Ravenclaw like Vic.

"And that's Vic's sister, Dom. And her boyfriend." The girl Rose is pointing at doesn't even hear her name. She's too engrossed in her conversation with a brown-haired boy.

"The rest are their friends. I don't know them. Albus are you done talking to Fred? I want to hurry."

"You two go ahead. I'll be there in a minute."

"Fine," Rose huffs. Scorpius blushes as she grabs his wrist and drags him from the compartment.

 _September 1, 2017_

Fred has always been the cousin Albus went to for advice. He's a prankster like his namesake but he knows just what to say to calm your fears. And right now, Albus's fears have to do with Slytherin.

"Fred, you've been going to Hogwarts for a while; you know what the Slytherins are like. Do you think...am I going to…"

Fred looks at him thoughtfully, a crease of concern between his eyebrows. He's silent for a long time. Albus can hear Rose rambling to Scorpius, but the words are lost to the tight worry in his chest.

"They don't all fit the stereotype," Fred says finally. "And they really aren't all bad."

Albus's heart sinks. "You think I am—"

"Albus, are you done talking to Fred? I want to hurry."

He jumps a little. "You two go ahead. I'll be there in a minute."

"Fine."

Albus slinks back into the seat as they leave. He's going to be in Slytherin. Fred couldn't even deny it.

With a sympathetic smile, Fred puts his hand on Albus's shoulder. "Hey, look at it this way. You might get a chance to prove that Slytherin's aren't all that bad!"

Albus remembers Rose's words to Scorpius earlier. If they both end up in Slytherin, at least they'll already know each other.

Fred stands and pulls his bag onto his shoulder. "And you can always ask the Sorting Hat to put you in Gryffindor." He glances out of the window and says with a playful smirk, "You won't be able to be Sorted, though, if you don't hurry up."

Albus runs out of the train, squeezing around taller students and tripping down the stairs. He catches sight of bushy red hair and sleek blond hair in the crowd of students and presses toward them.


End file.
